Elephant Rumblings: Basso, Gelof, Urshela progressing

MLB news roundup

Welcome to Tuesday A’s fans!

The team gave a few major health updates yesterday evening, giving updates on left-handed pitcher Brady Basso, second baseman Zack Gelof, and third baseman Gio Urshela:

All good news for the three players, and if everything is smooth sailing we could be seeing all three of these guys rejoining the team sooner than later.

Basso has been on the injured list all season after suffering a left shoulder strain just as Spring Training was getting underway. It ended up costing him all of spring and the first two months of the season and change but at least it wasn’t a season-ending injury for the organization’s #19 prospect according to MLB.com.

A former 16th-round draft pick back in 2019, Basso steadily climbed the minor league ladder over five seasons, culminating in the 27-year-old making his major league debut last year. In 7 appearances (4 starts), Basso posted a solid 4.03 ERA in 22 ¹⁄₃ frames. He was even better in those four starts, allowing just eight runs in 19 innings, and five of those runs came in one start. It was an impressive finish to the end of the season and one that seemingly caught the coaching staff’s eye.

The left-hander was a dark horse candidate to win a rotation job but that went out the window almost immediately following his injury. It seems the club will err on the side of caution and use Basso as a reliver to start the year, at least in the early going. He could wind up making some starts down the line once he’s shown he’s fully recovered and built up some arm strength but it seems the team is desperate for some pitching reinforcements. The Athletics have used him as both a starter and reliever as he progressed through the minors so he has experience in both roles.

The Gelof news is perhaps the most impactful as the second baseman has also missed the entirety of the season, first due to a broke bone in his hand and then a stress reaction in his ribs. Once considered a building block, Gelof’s shine wore off a bit last year after he failed to live up to sky high expectations. The hope was with a little less pressure on him to lead the offense he’d get back to his post-break 2023 version but that’s been delayed so far.

It seems he’s finally almost healthy enough to begin playing in games again. He had already gotten into three rehab games when the second injury occurred, going 1-for-7 with a walk and two strikeouts. One would have to think that the extra time off due to the rib issue could only help his wrist heal even more. Wrists are notoriously tricky and can sap power from a batter if it’s not fully healed. We should be finding out soon enough when Gelof is activated. Since he’s only played three games over the past two months he may need a bit of a ramp up time, depending on how aggressive the organization wants to be with the 26-year-old.

How the club juggles him and Luis Urias will be worth monitoring when Gelof returns. Urias has been having a solid season in his own right, hitting .244/.337/.391 with six home runs and seizing the second base job while it was open. Gelof will likely be the primary starter at the keystone but Urias has hit better than a lot of A’s hitters and the team would like his bat in the lineup. He’s right-handed, like Gelof, so a right-left platoon split wouldn’t work either. Mark Kotsay is surely thinking about all this.

And finally, Urshela. Signed this offseason to help solidify third base, the 33-year-old veteran has disappointed in his first year with the team, slashing just .224/.276/.337 with no home runs and no stolen bases. He’s only made two errors at the hot corner but has otherwise rated as a blow-average defensive third baseman. He had even begun losing playing time to Miguel Andujar, a former third baseman who hadn’t played the position seriously in years but was hitting so much better than Urshela that the club was ready to stomach the defensive downgrade.

Even with all that, the club would almost certainly bring Urshela back into the fold if and when he is ready. He just might not get his starting job at third base back. Rookie Max Muncy has looked much more comfortable in his second stint with the club and has been playing third over the past week. A lot may depend on the play of the former 1st-rounder as he could be playing his way into an everyday role at the hot corner even when Urshela returns. And if he doesn’t either start hitting or learn a new position, the team could stick with the younger options and split up with the veteran. How this all shakes out will be interesting to watch over the next few weeks.

Have a great day A’s fans!

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Drop Series Opener To Angels 7-4
• Athletics at Angels Series Preview
• A’s roster moves: Kurtz activated, Wynns joins roster
• A’s Acquire Austin Wynns
• Tempered Excitement: Starting Pitching On The Way, Most Definitely Maybe
• Yankees Claim CJ Alexander
• Brewers Claim Drew Avans

MLB News & Interest:

• Red Sox promote #1 overall prospect Roman Anthony
• Guardians active outfielder Lane Thomas from IL
• Marlins place starter Ryan Weathers on 60-day IL with lat strain
• Braves pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver undergoes Tommy John surgery
• White Sox promote top pitching prosect Grant Taylor
• Former Ray Wander Franco charged with gun possession in D.R.
• 1 intriguing trade chip for each team at the Trade Deadline
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

IF YOU DIDN’T SEE LAST NIGHT’S GAME, HE ALREADY TOPPED THIS ONE!

Just look at this!

An arm we may see at some point this season, perhaps?

I’ll believe it when I see it:

ICYMI:

Poor guy. Could he end up back where he started: